Relationship between dietary quality, tinnitus and hearing level: data from the national health and nutrition examination survey, 1999-2002.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the relationship between the healthy eating index (HEI), a measure of dietary quality based on United States Department of Agriculture recommendations and report of tinnitus.

DESIGN

This cross-sectional analysis was based on HEI data and report of tinnitus.

STUDY SAMPLE

Data for adults between 20 and 69 years of age were drawn from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 1999-2002. The NHANES is a programme of studies, to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States. Two thousand one hundred and seventy-six participants were included in the analytic sample.

RESULTS

Of the sample, 21.1% reported tinnitus within the past year and 11.7% reported persistent tinnitus, defined as tinnitus experienced at least monthly or greater. Controlling for age, sex, race/ethnicity, diabetes, noise exposure and smoking status, we found that with healthier diet (poorer vs. better HEI) there was decreased odds of reported persistent tinnitus [odds ratio (OR); 0.67; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.45-0.98; p = 0.03].

CONCLUSIONS

The current findings support a possible relationship between healthier diet quality and reported persistent tinnitus.